Mary—The Jewish Mother

Abstract

Christians have re-awoken to the Jewishness of Jesus and rediscovered a respect for Judaism. Is it not time to reconsider Mary, in Jewish terms? Mary was an observant Jewish woman and she even carried on worshipping at the Temple in Jerusalem after the Christ Event. Although on the cusp of the divide between Judaism and Christianity, within a few centuries the Church was playing down her Jewishness and soon applied anti-Jewish teaching. By the early Middle Ages, Jews had responded with their own polemic, notably against the belief that Christ was born of a virgin. The Jewish rejection of the Virgin Birth resulted in a view of Jews as particular enemies of Mary, an understanding which was explored in medieval art and miracle tales. Today Catholics and Jews can redeem this antiquated understanding of Mary by portraying her positively—as a first-century Jewish mother.